UPDATED: Our Globe Trotting AG Bill Barr

The "big news" this afternoon is that Bill Barr, in company with USA John Durham, has been flying to foreign lands--places like the UK and Italy--to solicit cooperation in his Russia Hoax investigation. 

Disgraced former DoJ National Security official David Laufman says that it's “fairly unorthodox for the attorney general personally to be flying around the world as a point person to further evidence-gathering for a specific Justice Department investigation.” I wouldn't personally know whether or not that's true, but it certainly does confirm the high priority that Barr places on this investigation. That's so obvious that sundance didn't even bother to paste his derisive Barr-on-the-bagpipes photo at the end of his post. Instead, he writes:

Deep State Impeachment Team Racing Against Time, Durham and Barr – NY Times Aids With Australian Narrative 

by sundance 

It is becoming clear the principals connected to the 2016 weaponization of the intelligence apparatus, DOJ and FBI are increasingly concerned about U.S. Attorney John Durham and Attorney General Bill Barr looking at the origins of “Spygate” and the Trump-Russia narrative.  Lawfare and their media outlets are leading their defensive-based offensive.

It appears that the narrative that the Deep State is trying to push out is that it's somehow improper for Barr to be investigating the Russia Hoax, since Robert "Bob" Mueller already did that. Thus, Barr's investigation must be a personal thing, for the benefit of Trump's 2020 campaign. And Barr should "at a minimum" recuse himself from doing that sort of thing. Preferably he'd resign or go into retirement in Siberia. Thus, the NYT writes in its sub-header:

Trump Pressed Australian Leader to Help Barr Investigate Mueller Inquiry’s Origins

The discussion was another instance of the president using American diplomacy for potential personal gain.

However, if you read the article you'll find zero actual evidence for the claim that Barr is somehow working for Trump's personal political benefit. Instead, you'll find the bare assertion followed by the admission that Barr and DoJ are engaged in an actual official investigation, just like they've said. But the NYT doesn't seem to want to acknowledge that the POTUS is also the chief law enforcement official of the United States, and the logical person to break logjams in foreign legal cooperation:

And like the call with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, the discussion with Mr. Morrison shows the president using high-level diplomacy to advance his personal political interests. 

President Trump initiated the discussion in recent weeks with Mr. Morrison explicitly for the purpose of requesting Australia’s help in the Justice Department review of the Russia investigation, according to the two people with knowledge of the discussion. Mr. Barr requested that Mr. Trump speak to Mr. Morrison, one of the people said. It came only weeks after Mr. Trump seemed to make military aid to Ukraine contingent on Mr. Zelensky doing him the “favor” of helping Mr. Barr with his work.

Well, duh! Mr. Barr's "work" is the DoJ's Russia Hoax investigation. It's incredibly important, as Barr has repeatedly and publicly maintained. Why would the USA send aid to a country that isn't cooperating in such important work?

Of course, Barr isn't about to recuse or resign or anything of the sort. The Deep State narrative is so patently absurd that Barr will laugh and swat those suggestions away.

The foreign officials who have been meeting with Barr are faced with some sobering choices. If they're convinced that Trump won't win reelection, they can always tell Barr to pound sand. That's a risky bet. Moreover, if Trump wins they could be faced with a very annoyed US Attorney General, and the AG has a lot of clout in international legal affairs.

If you want to read the full spin, follow the link:

Shane Harris‏Verified account @shaneharris

NEW: Attorney General William Barr has held private meetings overseas with foreign intelligence officials, including in the U.K. and Italy, seeking their help in investigation of the Russia investigation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/attorney-general-barr-personally-asked-foreign-officials-to-aid-inquiry-into-cia-fbi-activities-in-2016/2019/09/30/d50cd5c4-e3a5-11e9-b403-f738899982d2_story.html …

by @DevlinBarrett, me, and @mattzap

2:20 PM - 30 Sep 2019

UPDATE: The investigation in question--backed by a virtual mountain of evidence--concerns a conspiracy on the part of our intelligence agencies to subvert a national election and, having failed in that, to stage a lawfare coup to oust the elected president. In those efforts our intelligence agencies, presumptively with the approval of the past administration, enlisted the help of foreign intelligence services--again, presumptively with the approval of their respective governments. The whole thing is mind boggling, yet the NYT--no doubt egged on by their political and intel masters--is maintaining that it's somehow improper for the President and Attorney General to seek to get to the truth of this. That it could only possibly be for personal political gain, rather than for the good of the country. Remarkable. Sick.